2012-13 NBA Championship Futures

The Miami Heat are your 2012 Champions and according to Bovada they are the favorite to win the title in 2013 as well. Could this be the start of a dynasty?

The early odds are out and the Heat at 11/4 are the favorites to win it all again in 2013 and why not? The Big Three is intact, their bench performed great in the playoffs and they’re bringing just about everyone back. Lebron James is still the best player in the league and Erik Spoelstra proved himself as one of the best young coaches in the league. This could definitely be the beginning of something special in Miami and as long as everyone stays healthy this could be the next great NBA team.

Of course, the loser of the champion is right there behind them as the Oklahoma City Thunder are sitting at 5/1. They played admirably in the Finals, but it just felt like they weren’t quite there yet in the Finals. Like they weren’t quite at that championship level yet. Then again, of course they weren’t. Their core of superstars are all in their early 20s and this was their first Finals. In comparison, this was Lebron’s third Finals. In two years will they be ready? In one? If we are lucky enough to get a rematch of this Finals next year then I could definitely see the series going seven and when a series goes seven, anything can happen.

The Bulls linger at 6/1 as they remain the only true contender to the Heat in the East. They will continue to be dangerous, but they will only go as far as Derrick Rose can take them. Hopefully he can get strong over the offseason and we’ll see what happens.

The Spurs, despite being just two games away from the Finals, drop down to 10/1. Their age is always a question, but they are an extremely tough team as we saw with their 8-0 run through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Their coach is the best and their offensive system is awesome. I’ll never dismiss this team as they are always going to win 50 games and they are always going do some damage in the playoffs.

The Lakers at 10/1 are also one of those teams who always seems dangerous. Could they make a big move this offseason? It feels like they need to in order to get back into contention as Kobe wasn’t enough last year. Then again they might not even be the best team in Los Angeles with the Chris Paul led Clippers (18/1) looking to make a leap after looking good in the playoffs this season. That team is definitely one to watch this season.